Last week Cutzi posted her random thoughts and I liked that idea so much I decided to post my own. This is a good catch-all for all the myriad of things going on that don't warrant a post of their own.
1. I began my 2007 Christmas (and seasonal birthday) list today. Isaac's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and from then on, we have several birthdays between both sides of our family and group of friends, all the way up until Christmas.
2. Our hummingbird feeder is still hanging on our front porch and I really ought to take that down since it's been several months since we've seen a hummingbird. And that bright red empty feeder is just not serving any purpose right now other than to remind me that it needs to come down.
3. Last week our patio table completely shattered. I spent a good portion of one afternoon sweeping up shards of glass from our patio and picking them from the lawn nearby. I have yet to call the store and find out what they're going to do about that event. I think because I'm afraid they'll make us haul it all back to the store- glassless table, six chairs, and umbrella- and I don't welcome that trip. But I do have my receipt.
4. I'm completely floundering under mounds of laundry. The whole "do a load a day" system has not really panned out for us. What happens is that I remember to put a load IN, but then forget about it for a day or two. Sigh. But I AM newly inspired about *organizing* our clothes like Amy has just done at their house. And if she had a blog and posted about it I could link you there right now. But she doesn't have a blog.
5. But I think she *should* have one. And for the record, I asked her the other day if she missed blogging and she said yes.
6. I'm itching to get something on my knitting needles. I just checked out some Debbie Bliss books at the library (because Kendra recommended her to me) and I'm perusing them for a new project. For the past couple of years all I've been knitting are scarves, slippers and shawls, and I'm ready to move on. What I'm moving on TO I'm not yet sure.
7. My sister-in-law just found out she has breast cancer.
8. The kids have their first cold of the season. Isaac always gets it first, then Ella, and it always skims right over Isaias. And it usually lingers with Ella. She has had a pretty bad cough that has been keeping her (and us) up at night.
9. Ella and Isaac had their yearly doctor's appointments yesterday. When I made their appointments I was clearly insane because I made them for 8:30 and 9:00. In the morning. WHAT was I thinking?!?! It is hard for us to be somewhere by 10:00, let alone 8:30. I had to wake the kids up and we skipped breakfast to get there. Also, we love our doctor but we are always quizzed when it comes up that we homeschool: "So does [Ella] do okay around other children?" Or, "Is she involved with groups of children throughout the week?" (Because I guess her brothers don't count.) That aside, they're healthy and great and growing a ton.
10. Flannel pajama pants. It's the one thing I forgot to list in my Autumn post of things I love about this season.
11. Did you read this post? I loved it. [Make sure to follow the link, too. You'll laugh.]
12. Isaias has this new habit of repeating everything we say. I'm not exaggerating. Every sentence, he repeats. Just to give you a little idea of what this might be like, here's an example. If I say, "Buddy, you need to finish your chicken before you can have any more bread", he says, "I need to finish my chicken before I can have any more bread?" And then if I smartly reply, "Yep, that's what I said", he says, "That's what you said?" Multiply that by about a hundred and you can see why I'm slightly annoyed with this new habit.
13. Amy and I switched our weekly playdates from Wednesday mornings (which we've been doing for years) to Tuesday afternoons. So now we don't do lunch together anymore, but we do get to do "snacks", which is fun. This week she made a delicious pumpkin roll (think pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting rolled inside of it). So tasty. Last time we were there she made rice crispy treats, which is my all-time favorite treat. She knows this, and that's why she made them. *And* every time I come she has a latte (iced vanilla) waiting for me on the counter. This is just one small reason Amy is my best friend.
14. I have been having some serious insomnia lately. Nearly twice a week I'll wake up between 3 and 4 and NOT be able to fall back to sleep. Usually I lay there for an hour or so, trying, and then I get up to go have a quiet time and then after that I crawl back into bed and maybe right before the alarm goes off I might doze for 10 minutes. It's crazy, because I am *so* tired. But once my mind gets whirring I can't really settle it down. And our bedtime hour has been around midnight, lately. So I'm exhausted.
15. I'm reading a really good book right now. I'll post about it when I'm done.
16. Isaac says things like, "This is so delicious I can barely stand it. What does 'barely stand it' mean?" Or this, from our front porch: "I'm wearing my boots because it's a nice..." (he pauses, looking around, and then:) --"Is it Fall today?"-- (I answer in the affirmative, and he continues, triumphantly) "...Fall day!"
17. I wish Michelle lived here. I like her far too much for her to live all the way in Indiana.
18. I love my husband. He never complains. And I do mean "never". He works tirelessly during the day and comes home to serve wherever he can around here. And he puts up with me. He will be getting some extra kind words from God when he gets to heaven for that fact alone, I assure you.
19. I recently discovered Sara Groves. I love her voice and lyrics.
20. I like having backyard chickens. I've decided they're the perfect pets. They give us four eggs a day. They require very little from us. And when we forget to let them out of their little house until 1:30 in the afternoon, as was the case yesterday, they are just fine. When I peeked in, I found them all sitting up on their roost. They must have decided it was simply still nighttime. And when I opened their little door they just clucked happily and came outside and then I collected the eggs they'd left and that was that.
Last night at the dinner table
Isaias (2): "I need a picko." [translation: pickle]
Mark and I together: "You need a what?"
Isaias: "A picko."
Me, bewildered (I think he's had one or two ever in his life): "Why would you want a pickle?"
Isaias: "'Coz I have corn in my teef."
Aha... a pickle. You know. Those pickles come in really handy for getting stuff out of your teeth.
But I think he actually meant "toothpick."
What I did with those gourds
At the beginning of each new season I have a burst of decorating energy and decorate the mantel above our fireplace and a few other areas around the house. I have three bins for this purpose. One is labeled "Christmas", one is labeled "Fall", and the other is labeled "Spring/Summer". When I pulled out our bin of fall decorations a few weeks ago, the kids gathered around and wanted to help. In order to keep things simple and let them help (and truthfully, so that it wouldn't look like a hodgepodge of decorating clutter), I told them they could each choose one item from the box in which to place on the mantel. Here are their selections:
When Mark got home, he wanted to play, too:
(No, the Pittsburgh Steelers Bobblehead was not in the fall-decorating bin. And yes, it's still sitting on top of our mantel. Because I love my man that much.)
As for the gourds, they went in a pot on our front porch:
And here, in my window "box":
This was my mom's brilliant idea. Several years ago she thought of this and we've each been doing it ever since. When our window box flowers are done, we buy some gourds and/or pumpkins (or grow them, as was the case this year). Then we scour the town-- clippers in hand-- to find the prettiest leaves, and then we come home to our window boxes and create!
When Mark got home, he wanted to play, too:
(No, the Pittsburgh Steelers Bobblehead was not in the fall-decorating bin. And yes, it's still sitting on top of our mantel. Because I love my man that much.)
As for the gourds, they went in a pot on our front porch:
And here, in my window "box":
This was my mom's brilliant idea. Several years ago she thought of this and we've each been doing it ever since. When our window box flowers are done, we buy some gourds and/or pumpkins (or grow them, as was the case this year). Then we scour the town-- clippers in hand-- to find the prettiest leaves, and then we come home to our window boxes and create!
I should probably tell you...
...that Michelle has posted a short video of my trip to Indiana.
You can view that here. Or not. (Preferrably not, if I had my way.) I don't particularly like pictures of myself. Not to mention videos. (But I'm just going to get over that for the moment and cringe while you all head over to watch that.)
You can view that here. Or not. (Preferrably not, if I had my way.) I don't particularly like pictures of myself. Not to mention videos. (But I'm just going to get over that for the moment and cringe while you all head over to watch that.)
The three words that made my day
WE HAVE EGGNOG
Just seen on the sign outside a local coffee shop.
You can't even know how happy this makes me. Eggnog Lattes, readers.
You may be surprised to learn that I haven't actually had one yet. Yet. I just gasped loudly and braked and alarmed my entire family in the process. Then I whooped with joy. And expressed my delight for a few minutes: "Do you see that? Eggnog! Eggnog Lattes! I can't believe it! I am *so* excited! Do you even SEE that sign? Mark, LOOK. That sign. Everyone, look. That sign! It says 'We have Eggnog.' Do you even know what that means? Eggnog Lattes! Mama LOVES those.... (etc)"
I plan to head out bright and early tomorrow morning for my first Eggnog Latte of the season. (~contented sigh~)
And in the meantime I am just savoring the knowledge that EGGNOG is in town.
On second thought, maybe if I sweetly ask my husband he'll head out later tonight and get me one.
Yes. I'll try that.
Ohmygoodness. WHAT IF THEY CLOSE before then? I am calling right now.
Just seen on the sign outside a local coffee shop.
You can't even know how happy this makes me. Eggnog Lattes, readers.
You may be surprised to learn that I haven't actually had one yet. Yet. I just gasped loudly and braked and alarmed my entire family in the process. Then I whooped with joy. And expressed my delight for a few minutes: "Do you see that? Eggnog! Eggnog Lattes! I can't believe it! I am *so* excited! Do you even SEE that sign? Mark, LOOK. That sign. Everyone, look. That sign! It says 'We have Eggnog.' Do you even know what that means? Eggnog Lattes! Mama LOVES those.... (etc)"
I plan to head out bright and early tomorrow morning for my first Eggnog Latte of the season. (~contented sigh~)
And in the meantime I am just savoring the knowledge that EGGNOG is in town.
On second thought, maybe if I sweetly ask my husband he'll head out later tonight and get me one.
Yes. I'll try that.
Ohmygoodness. WHAT IF THEY CLOSE before then? I am calling right now.
In the kitchen
This past week I've made a number of new recipes from around the blogosphere. They have been well-received by all of us so I want to share them with you, too!
First off, last week's cheesecake recipe request. I made this one. You should, too. It was that good. The poker guys were raving about it. As were we for the next two days as we finished it off. (Thank you, Jodi!)
The following evening I tried out this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. Thank you, Kendra, for sharing this recipe. *So* tasty! We brought these to our Bible study and everyone ate happily.
For dinner one night last week we tried these Calzones, and those will become a regular in our home, I assure you. (As delicious as those pumpkin recipes are, pumpkin is kind of a seasonal ingredient, but Calzones? Now, those you can eat *any* time of the year!) (Thank you, Renee, for this recipe. And also for this next one...)
Another night: Mozzarella meatballs. Meatballs alone are a hit at our house, but with some cheesy goodness oozing from the middle? HUGELY satisfying meal. (And I just now realized that I have been spelling the word Mozzarella wrong for my entire life as a speller. I thought it was spelled "Mozerella". So much for my spelling gifts.) Anyway, thank you, Renee. From here on out I'm trying every single recipe you post.
And last, but not least: this morning for breakfast we tried Elise's Amish Baked Oatmeal. I've tried baked oatmeal before but have always found it too dry. That was NOT the case with this recipe. It was delicious-- moist and sweet and yummy! Even my non-oatmeal-eating kids were asking for seconds. Ella took one tentative bite and then said, "I don't think there will be any of this left for daddy!" This also marked the first time I've ever purchased flax meal and millet seed at the grocery store. Although I'm not sure what else you use those things for, they were awfully good in this recipe! :) Thank you, Elise! We'll be having this regularly!
Oh, and Michelle? We also had your breakfast casseroles on Sunday morning. (Enjoyed them all over again. The dessert-y one was much sought-after.) But I'm going to let *you* post those recipes on your blog.
So keep right on posting your recipes, girls. My family thanks you.
First off, last week's cheesecake recipe request. I made this one. You should, too. It was that good. The poker guys were raving about it. As were we for the next two days as we finished it off. (Thank you, Jodi!)
The following evening I tried out this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. Thank you, Kendra, for sharing this recipe. *So* tasty! We brought these to our Bible study and everyone ate happily.
For dinner one night last week we tried these Calzones, and those will become a regular in our home, I assure you. (As delicious as those pumpkin recipes are, pumpkin is kind of a seasonal ingredient, but Calzones? Now, those you can eat *any* time of the year!) (Thank you, Renee, for this recipe. And also for this next one...)
Another night: Mozzarella meatballs. Meatballs alone are a hit at our house, but with some cheesy goodness oozing from the middle? HUGELY satisfying meal. (And I just now realized that I have been spelling the word Mozzarella wrong for my entire life as a speller. I thought it was spelled "Mozerella". So much for my spelling gifts.) Anyway, thank you, Renee. From here on out I'm trying every single recipe you post.
And last, but not least: this morning for breakfast we tried Elise's Amish Baked Oatmeal. I've tried baked oatmeal before but have always found it too dry. That was NOT the case with this recipe. It was delicious-- moist and sweet and yummy! Even my non-oatmeal-eating kids were asking for seconds. Ella took one tentative bite and then said, "I don't think there will be any of this left for daddy!" This also marked the first time I've ever purchased flax meal and millet seed at the grocery store. Although I'm not sure what else you use those things for, they were awfully good in this recipe! :) Thank you, Elise! We'll be having this regularly!
Oh, and Michelle? We also had your breakfast casseroles on Sunday morning. (Enjoyed them all over again. The dessert-y one was much sought-after.) But I'm going to let *you* post those recipes on your blog.
So keep right on posting your recipes, girls. My family thanks you.
